List of Desperate Housewives characters

Following is a comprehensive list of every supporting fictional character in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.

Acquaintances of Susan Mayer

Main article: Acquaintances of Susan Mayer

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Susan Mayer, one of the protagonists of the series.

Acquaintances of Lynette Scavo

Main article: Acquaintances of Lynette Scavo

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Lynette Scavo, one of the protagonists of the series.

Acquaintances of Bree Van de Kamp

Main article: Acquaintances of Bree Van de Kamp

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Bree Van de Kamp, one of the protagonists of the series.

Acquaintances of Gabrielle Solis

Main article: Acquaintances of Gabrielle Solis

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Gabrielle Solis, one of the protagonists of the series.

Acquaintances of Edie Britt

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Edie Britt, one of the protagonists of the series.

Dave Williams

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Neal McDonough as Dave Williams

Dave Williams, previously David Dash (Neal McDonough) is a twice-widowed, mysterious man that was introduced in the fifth season premiere as Edie Britt's motivational speaker husband. Dave convinced Edie to move back to Wisteria Lane and get her house back from her tenant. Edie announced to the women that she is married and introduces Dave. During their welcoming party Edie learns the women are forgiving her for what happened instead of asking her for her forgiveness. Edie is annoyed by this, and asks Dave why he would force her to move back to Wisteria Lane. Dave tells her that they can be happy here.

Dave learns that Edie was insulted by Karen McCluskey, and Edie is getting tired of all the hostility towards her. Dave begs Mrs. McCluskey to apologize to Edie. When she refuses to, her cat Toby mysteriously disappears. She asks Dave to help her find him, and Dave tells her he might offer a hand if she promises to apologize to Edie. Karen promises, reluctantly, and after she does so, she notices that Toby is back at her house. Realizing what went on, Karen tries to get Katherine to help her do some research on Dave. When the computer turns up no results the two try to grill Edie to learn what they can about her husband, and this makes Edie realize she does not know anything about him. Edie asks Dave some questions about his childhood, publicly, and this embarrasses him. Later, Dave does his best to let Edie think Karen is going senile. Dave notices Mrs. McCluskey going through his mail and concocts a plan. He decides to throw a surprise birthday party for her, and when she goes out for drinks with Edie, who is distracting her while the neighbors organize the party, Dave breaks into her home and moves some things around, leaving a baseball bat on the couch, only to upset her, then heads for the party. Karen goes home to feed her cat before heading to Susan's house, and notices that Dave had been there. She grabs the baseball bat and goes after him. She tries to attack Dave with the baseball bat. She is torn apart from him, and is taken by an ambulance to the hospital, leaving everyone thinking she is in fact going senile. Dave talks to her, apologizing for what he had to do to her. Karen replies by saying she knows he's up to something awful.

Meanwhile, Dave forms a garage rock band with Tom, Orson, Carlos and Mike, who he helped move to the Lane in order to be closer to him. Dave arranges for the band to play at the "Battle of the Bands" competition at "The White Horse Club". Before the show, Dave learns that Dr. Heller is there, and he wants to speak with him. Dave tells him they can talk after the concert. Dr. Heller agrees, but then, when watching the poster for the band, he learns that the man Dave is after is in the band. Dr. Heller tells Dave he wishes to speak to that man immediately, and Dave fools him by taking him into the club's storage room, telling him they'll meet the man there. In the storage room, Dave strangles Dr. Heller to death. He then pours alcohol on his deceased body and sets it ablaze. He comes out of the storage room and is seen by Jackson, Susan's boyfriend, who was looking for the bathroom. Dave locks him in the bathroom, and heads out to play with the band. During their performance Edie notices the flames and chaos ensues as the attendants everyone tries to escape. Dave comes out and learns that Mike had gone back to save Jackson, not knowing he had already escaped. Dave goes after Mike, who had passed out in the bathroom, and saves him. Dave tells Mike that he's not done with him yet. After the fire, Dave learns that Porter Scavo is highly rumored to be the one who set the fire, and tells the two detectives working on the case that he thought he saw Porter come out of the storage room, where they found Dr. Heller's body. Dave begins to feel extremely guilty when he sees all the destruction he caused.

As Dave runs out of pills he sees hallucinated visions of his wife and daughter, the people Mike and Susan accidentally killed in their car crash a few years back. Dave tells his dead family he'll be with them soon. At the graveyard, Dave visits their graves, and promises them they'll be together, saying that first Mike Delfino must pay for taking them away from him, he must go through what Dave went through.

Dave calls Dr. Heller's receptionist, who Mrs. McCluskey and her sister tried to grill before, and gets his prescription refilled. Edie catches her husband in the middle of the night talking to himself, and as she tries to understand what is going on, he attacks her. Edie kicks him out of the house, and Mike lets Dave stay with him for a while. While leaving his house, Dave flashes back to when he learned he lost his family and how his depression got him admitted into a mental facility. He also remembers that when he got out, he met Edie and, after learning she used to lived on the same street as Mike, married her. Mike sees Dave with his luggage and invites Dave to stay with him until things get better. Dave then tries to help out Mike win Katherine over, in order to win him over as well. Later, Edie realizes she doesn't want to be alone, and takes Dave back.

Lee learns from Bob that Dave told the cops Porter set the fire to the club and tells Tom. Tom confronts Dave and Dave explains that he had to tell the detectives what he thought he saw. Their friendship ends there. Later it is revealed that Dave is keeping Dr. Heller's cell phone, and constantly texting his receptionist as Heller so his absence will not be noticed. As "Heller" he tells the receptionist he'll be back soon, then plans a camping trip with Mike and Katherine, trying to trick Edie not to go and not to tell Katherine that she isn't going.

Edie and Dave are at a liquor store buying alcohol for Mike and Katherine's housewarming party when a priest, recognizing Dave, comes up to them. Dave distracts Edie and tells the priest he doesn't want to recall his past. Edie finds this strange, and begins looking up Dave's past.

When Edie learns of the death of his daughter she asks Dave how he feels about children, he replies by telling her that a "friend" of his had a daughter he loved who died in the crash and now lives his life wondering what she would've looked like and how old she would've been; he also tells her that he would never want a child as it wouldn't be worth it.

In the camping trip which Dave arranged to exact his revenge on Mike by killing Katherine (his cover up being that her death was accidental due to illegal hunting in the area), his plan is botched when Edie texts him just as he was about to shoot Katherine from a distance, causing him to lose his aim. Edie had discovered his secret and demanded to confront him. Katherine and Mike return home with Dave. Dave goes home and finds Edie, who reveals that she was now aware of his intentions. As she dials the phone to warn Mike, Dave grabs her by the throat. He almost strangles her, but releases her at the last moment. Tearful and disoriented, Edie rushes out and drives away in the car, but avoids running over Orson Hodge and collides with an electric post and receives a fatal shock, killing her instantly. Dave later realizes that instead of Katherine it is M.J. he should have been trying to kill all this time in order to hurt Susan who was driving the car that killed his wife and daughter.

When Jackson returns, Dave fears he knows information that he will tell the police. When he overhears a conversation that reveals Jackson is in the country illegally, he tips off immigration. When Jackson is arrested by immigration, Dave is watching from a distance on his bike, smiling.

Although Susan initially rejected Dave's offer to go fishing, she finally accepts. On the way there, Mike discovers that Dave is really David Dash and his wife and daughter were killed in the car crash that broke up their marriage. In an attempt to get Dave to stop at a diner or rest stop, she gives M.J. another juice box. Dave takes Susan and M.J. into the woods (because M.J. had to go to the washroom). Susan falls and twists her ankle, but tells M.J. to keep running and hide. Dave finally catches M.J. and tells Susan to get in the car. Mike calls and tells Dave to let Susan and M.J. go and to take him instead. Dave revises his plan and plans on making Susan watch as Mike hits the car with himself and M.J. in it, on the road of the accident because he thought it would be "poetic." In an act of charity (resulting from a hallucination), Dave lets M.J. go. Mike hits Dave's car with only Dave in it, but both survive. Dave thinks about his wife and daughter and that they wouldn't have died if he had stopped them. The camera then pans out, revealing that Dave was sent to a mental hospital in Boston, where he was supposed to be living.

Charles McLain

Charles McLain (Greg Evigan) is Edie’s first husband, and Travers' dad. He’s a doctor, who’s been working with Doctors Without Borders. He and Edie got divorced when Travers was two years old, and the parents decided to let Travers grow up with his dad, giving Charles full custody.

Travers McLain

Travers McLain (Jake Cherry season 3, Stephen Lunsford season 5) is Edie's son and her first husband Charles McLain. He lives with his father full time and was first mentioned in the pilot episode of the series, when he was said to be staying at Martha Huber's while Edie was "entertaining" a man. However he was never seen nor mentioned again until the sixteenth episode of the third season. His father Charles McLain left him with Edie whilst he went on a Doctors without Borders trip in Africa. Edie tried to leave Travers with Carlos while she went to a party, but as Carlos had a date, he declined. Seeing Travers playing by himself in the street, Carlos brings him to his home and later criticizes an intoxicated Edie for not supervising her son. She in turn reveals that she didn't take custody of him because she didn't feel she was capable of it and was being a realistic mother.

Later on Edie uses him as a way to get closer to Carlos and he is on to it the whole time but seems to take part in the plan willingly. Later in the episode, Edie and Carlos are in bed together. Edie's ex-husband, Charles, comes to pick up Travers. Edie tries to get shared custody of Travers when she suspects Carlos might be losing interest in their relationship. Charles learns about this and he and Edie get into an argument. Edie threatens to hire a lawyer so she can get full custody of Travers. Carlos learns of Edie's plan and tells her that she should think of what is best for Travers which is for him to stay with Charles and not have to go back and forth. He comforts her, saying that he will be there for her and Edie decides to call off her lawyer.

When Edie leaves Wisteria Lane for what she thinks is for good, she tells Travers she would have to spend Mother's Day with him. In fact, she would have to spend a lot more time with him from now on. Edie returns to Wisteria Lane 5 years later with a new husband, Dave Williams, but no Travers, who wound up at Beecher's Academy, about 4 hours outside of Fairview. While he is sad about his mother's death, he harbors anger toward her for her abandonment of the family. He eventually forgives her after a conversation with Karen McCluskey.

Ilene Britt

Ilene Britt (K Callan) is Edie’s dead mother. She appears in one of Edie’s dreams in the season three finale, blaming her for tricking Carlos into a relationship, warning her that she will die alone, just like she had done. Edie proved her wrong as she died married to Dave.

Austin McCann

Austin McCann (Josh Henderson) is a troubled 17-year-old kid who was having problems with his mother's new boyfriend. When Edie, Austin's aunt, catches him trying to break into her house, she lets him stay with her for some time instead of going to Mexico like he was planning to, since he fought his mother's boyfriend but she chose her boyfriend instead Austin.

He is instantly attracted to Julie Mayer, and whilst she is also attracted to him, she doesn't immediately let him know. They spend sometime playing cat and mouse but begin a relationship after both being held hostage by Carolyn Bigsby, much to Susan's displeasure, as she considers him a trouble-maker, and fears he will break her daughter's heart. In episode 3.11, "No Fits, No Fights, No Feuds", Julie gives up her virginity to Austin. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that Austin had been sleeping with Danielle Van De Kamp, who is also a friend of Julie's. Austin plans to break it off with her to keep Julie from finding out, but it ends with Danielle threatening to reveal their relationship to Julie if Austin quits having sex with her.

In episode 3.12, "Not While I'm Around", Edie and Susan caught Austin and Danielle having sex. At the end of the episode, Susan tells Julie about Austin and Danielle, and Julie is seen crying on her mother's shoulder. It's suspected that Julie's relationship with Austin is over, as well as Julie and Danielle's friendship. As of the episode "I Remember That", it is established that Julie dumped Austin, as said by Edie to Tom Scavo when Edie broached him about hiring Austin for a job. This was later confirmed by Austin himself who proceeded to get high on the job, telling Lynette his reason was that "Julie dumped me and I'm very.... very upset." Lynette fired Austin for smoking marijuana on the job, but Tom hired him back because "teenage girls think he's hot...he'll bring in all the high school girls and half the men's chorus."

Later on he discovers that he got Danielle pregnant just when he managed to mend his relationship with Julie. Orson Hodge told Austin he would need to leave town. Although Austin refused, Andrew pointed out that sooner or later he would just hurt Julie again. Austin agreed to leave; said goodbye to Julie and told her she was the only person who ever gave him a second chance, and then rode away on his motorcycle for parts unknown.

Umberto Roswell

Umberto Roswell (Matt Cedeño) is Edie's second husband. After two years of marriage, he divorced her, claiming that her sexual neediness turned him gay.

Lila and Paige Dash

Lila and Paige Dash (Marie Caldare and Madeleine Michelle Dunn) are respectively Dave Williams's first wife and their daughter. Both of them died in car accident, involving Susan and Mike. Paige was born approximately the same time as Susan's boy M.J. Delfino in the same hospital.

Acquaintances of Katherine Mayfair

The following characters are all family members and acquaintances of Katherine Mayfair, one of the protagonists of the series.

Adam Mayfair

Adam Mayfair (Nathan Fillion) is Katherine's ex-husband and a doctor. Adam moves in Wisteria Lane with Katherine and Dylan Mayfair. He and Katherine find an attic room in their house and Adam asks her "Is this the room?" Katherine tells him that it is, and that Dylan wants to move into it, however she will not allow it. When he questions her whether they made a mistake moving back to Wisteria Lane, she tells him that they did not have a choice. It is often implied he has a history as a ladies' man and indeed it is revealed that he left Chicago because of a patient who sued him for sexual assault after he left her, although he let Katherine believe she was just an erotomaniac. When she finds out, she asks him to leave which he does and while packing his stuff he finds Lilian's note and discovers Katherine's mystery making him decide to actually walk out on her. In episode 4.11, Dylan wants to talk to Adam because she is willing to know the truth about her father. Adam meets with Katherine before talking to Dylan, and they decide that he should learn what Dylan knows and what she doesn't, and then Adam would make up something. After this, Katherine tells him that she wants to patch things up with him, but Adam guarantees that he will give her one last alibi, but then he is done with her.

In the Season 4 finale, Adam and Katherine seemed to have re-kindled their marriage. They even go to Dylan's cello recital together, as a family. Since Adam had never seen a photo or ever met Wayne he didn't know he was also at the recital. Wayne asked Adam during the intermission to help with some car trouble he was having. Wayne then knocks Adam unconscious with a tire iron. Wayne takes him to some abandoned shack and beats to the point where Wayne thinks he has killed him. After Wayne leaves to deal with Katherine, Adam who was never really dead, steals a man's car and heads to Wisteria Lane to save Katherine from Wayne's wrath. He shows up just as Wayne is about to shoot Katherine. The two men engage in an off-screen scuffle and Wayne shoots himself in the abdomen. Bree then takes Adam to get cleaned up. He isn't seen after that. In the 5-year leap it is assumed that Katherine and Adam are divorced because there is no sign of Adam.

Dylan Mayfair

Dylan Mayfair (Lyndsy Fonseca) is Katherine's daughter, adopted from an orphanage in Romania after the tragic death of the real Dylan, the daughter of Katherine and her first husband Wayne Davis, and passed off as the real Dylan when Katherine returned to Wisteria Lane, though this Dylan has no memory of "her" past life. Dylan, her mother Katherine and her stepfather Adam move into Wisteria Lane and it is revealed that Katherine and Dylan lived there twelve years ago. Dylan finds a note that Katherine threw into the fireplace, which implies that Katherine killed Dylan's real father. Throughout Season 4 she unearths more surprising news about her past. She and Julie participate in the Founder's Day Ball.

One night, Dylan is driving, and a police officer pulls her over for speeding. Later, she finds out he is her real father, Wayne, who she always thought had died. Wayne begs Dylan not to tell Katherine that he and Dylan have met. Dylan meets Wayne a few times for dinner, telling Katherine that she's out on a date. Katherine follows Dylan one evening and secretly discovers the truth. In fact, that same night Dylan and Wayne resolve to tell Katherine that they have been meeting. When she hears the news, Katherine pretends she is no longer afraid of Wayne - but she keeps a gun hidden under the counter. Wayne later discovers that Dylan is not his biological daughter. He realizes this by watching some home videos of his daughter when she was young. Most striking is the fact that while his daughter had a scar from a bike accident, Dylan's skin is unmarked. Katherine has no choice but to tell Dylan the truth about all the secrets she has kept her.

Katherine says that Wayne abused her. She reported it to the police twice, but because Wayne was a police officer they "lost the paperwork" the first time. The second time, a policewoman advises Katherine to leave town. She packs her things and leaves with her daughter. Eventually, Wayne finds them. Katherine is away. When she returns, Mary Alice (who was babysitting) tells her that Wayne came by and given Dylan a bike and a doll, which the little girl wouldn't let go of. Katherine takes the doll and puts it on top of a bookcase. Wayne visits again and Katherine hits him with a candlestick. He leaves. Katherine falls asleep on the couch, and wakes up when she hears a crash. She rushes upstairs and finds Dylan under the bookcase where Katherine had hidden the doll. The real Dylan is dead. Katherine can't go to the police because Wayne will find a way to pin Dylan's death on her. She buries her daughter in the woods. She then flies to a Romanian orphanage and adopts a girl who bears a striking resemblance to Dylan. The orphan's biological mother had died in childbirth and her father had been murdered.

After the five year skip in the Season 4 finale, Dylan leaves a message for Katherine saying she has just returned from Paris, where her fiancee proposed under the Eiffel Tower. She has married a man named Bradley and the two of them have a baby.

Lillian Simms

Lillian Simms (Ellen Geer) is Katherine’s aunt – the elderly woman who owned the house on 4356 Wisteria Lane. After getting too ill to live there on her own she moved to a nursing home, but kept leasing the house in order to pay for her living arrangements. For the first three seasons of the show, Mike rented the house. When Mike moved out, Mrs. Simms was convinced by Edie not to let Carlos rent her house. When Katherine moved in in the season four premiere, Katherine claimed that she is back on Wisteria Lane in order to care for her aunt. In the episode "If There's Anything I Can't Stand", Lillian Simms comes to live in her home again to be cared for in her last days alive. Lillian arrived on a Saturday and the day she arrived she told Katherine that she had been feeling guilty and thought that Katherine and she should tell Dylan about what had happened twelve years earlier. Days later Lillian pretended to take a sleeping pill before Katherine left and then when she had thought that Katherine was gone she used the bell she was given to call Dylan to her room. When Dylan came into her room she tried to tell Dylan what happened and why Dylan did not remember living on Wisteria Lane twelve years ago. But Katherine arrived and sent Dylan away and then took the bell with her. Later that evening while Dylan was practicing her cello, Lillian wrote a note, folded it and died while dropping the note on the floor. Lillian was taken away in an ambulance and her note went unnoticed as Katherine closed her aunt’s door.

Wayne Davis

Wayne Davis (Gary Cole) is Katherine's first husband and Dylan's father; who abused her. They are divorced. Katherine killed him, in self defense, after he kidnapped her and Bree, in the season finale, after realizing Dylan wasn't his daughter.

Sylvia Greene

Sylvia Greene (Melora Walters) was a woman from Adam's past who shows up and Adam angrily tells her she already ruined his life once. It's later revealed that she was Adam's mistress in Chicago, and she was threatening Adam because he ended the affair, which led to an accusation of sexual assault. In the tornado episode, Bree invites her to her house, which results in Sylvia locking herself in the room Bree, Orson, Benjamin, Adam, and Katherine were supposed to take shelter. They find a closet to stay in. During the tornado strong streak, she comes out of the room and begs Adam to come with her and love her. When Adam does nothing, she threatens to tell exactly what happened in Chicago. Just as she is about to blurt it out, she opens the front door and is swept up by the tornado, killing her instantly. She is found dead by Kayla Scavo, and is identified by Adam and Katherine.

Other characters

Paul Young

Paul Young, formerly Todd Forrest (Mark Moses) is the widower of Mary Alice Young, the show's narrator. Many years before the beginning of the show, he helped his wife dispose of the body of Deirdre Taylor after Mary Alice had killed her. After Mary Alice's suicide, Paul found out about a threatening note in his wife's personal belongings. He spent a long time investigating who sent the note to her, and when he found out it was his neighbor Martha Huber (who showed no remorse for causing Mary Alice's death, saying she was a horrible person), he murdered her. Paul planted Martha Huber's bracelet and ring in Mike Delfino's garage to try to frame him. With the help of her sister Martha Huber, Felicia Tilman discovered that Paul and Mary Alice had murdered Mike Delfino's former fiancee Deirdre. Mike kidnapped Paul, intending to kill him, but spared his life when he realized that Zach, Paul's son, was actually Deirdre's child and therefore Mike's son.

Felicia Tilman, however, was still intent on making Paul Young pay for her sister's death. Felicia planned to inform Noah Taylor about Paul's involvement in the murder of Noah's daughter Deirdre, hoping that Noah would take justice into his own hands. Her plan failed, however, when Zach Young blackmailed his grandfather into sparing Paul. She moved back onto Wisteria Lane and terrorized Paul. After Paul lost control and attacked her in front of several witnesses, she seized her chance and faked her own murder by cutting off two of her fingers which then lead to Paul being arrested and subsequently abandoned by Zach after he inherited his grandfather's fortune and realized that Paul was indeed responsible for Martha Huber's death.

In Season 3, Paul is no longer a main cast member and did not even make a guest appearance until Episode 11, when Mike Delfino encountered him in prison. Paul, whom Mike has little or no memory of, tells him that he believes Mike is innocent of the murder of Monique Polier. Furthermore, Paul pays two inmates to attack Mike and then rescues him in order to gain his trust. Paul did this because he needed a favor from Mike: to ask his biological son (and Paul's adoptive son) Zach to come visit Paul in prison. Zach agrees to come and visit Paul, but once again, Zach refuses to help Paul as he knows that Paul is only interested in him to use his money to try and locate Felicia Tilman who has gone into hiding.

Zach Young

Zachary "Zach" Young, formerly Dana Taylor (Cody Kasch) is the mentally unstable adopted son of Paul and Mary Alice. Zach is the biological son of Deirdre Taylor, who was killed by Mary Alice while attempting to take her child back after recovering from drug addiction. It has been confirmed by CNN and creator Marc Cherry that Mike Delfino is Zach's biological father, however Mike was not aware that Deirdre had a son until One Wonderful Day, the final episode of the first season.

Zach had been missing ever since he held up Susan in Mike's home, until he was found in a park by Susan, who took him to lunch and talked about how she wanted to help him, until he mentioned that he still had a very strong obsession with Julie Mayer who he thought still liked him. Susan, visibly shaken by Zach's words, suggested he go to Utah and find Paul who Zach still believed was his real father. Susan also supplied him with the money to get him there. Months later and after Felicia Tilman frames Paul Young for her murder, Paul begs Zach to fetch defense money from Noah Taylor by pleading it for a car. Noah doesn't buy the excuse and informs Zach that he would not be receiving his fortune because of Zach's supposed lack of bravery. Zach, however, turns off Noah's respirator, and finds himself not only having inherited a vast fortune, but also wanting nothing more to do with Paul Young. Zach moved to his grandfather Noah Taylor's mansion.

Zach went unseen for the first ten episodes of Season Three, but appeared in Not While I'm Around, as Gabrielle's secret admirer. Zach had been semi-stalking Gabrielle Solis. He sends her flowers, a dress, then an expensive bracelet, and reveals himself to Gabrielle when she meets him at a restaurant. Zach tries to impress Gabrielle with luxurious gifts and by mentioning his new wealth, including a chateau in Switzerland, but is unsuccessful. Later, Zach orchestrated a situation where Gabrielle would be upset enough to drink heavily. She woke up the next morning to find Zach in bed with her, and he claimed that they had sex; Gabrielle had been too drunk to recall the evening's events. Zach proceeded to use this as an excuse to presume an escalation of their nonexistent romantic relationship. Gabrielle asked her ex-husband Carlos to scare Zach off, but Carlos instead ended up discovering that Zach is so well-endowed that Gabrielle could not possibly have forgotten having had sexual intercourse with him; she never had sex with Zach. Gabrielle lectured Zach about how not to behave towards his friends, and she told him to leave her alone after he proposes to her at the Pizzeria and says they can not even be friends anymore and that she will never love him. Zach goes off in a strop and tells Gabrielle that when she's middle aged and alone, the only person she can blame is herself for her loneliness.

Martha Huber

Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook) lived at 4350 Wisteria Lane. She first appeared in the Desperate Housewives pilot episode as the snoopy neighbor who first discovered Mary Alice Young's suicide after hearing a loud sound which she investigated, pretending to return Mary Alice's blender. When Edie's house burns down, Martha discovers a measuring cup that does not belong to Edie in the ruins. When she snoops through Susan's groceries and discovers a new measuring cup, she jumps to the conclusion that Susan burned Edie's house down in order to kill Edie. Martha, who was undergoing financial difficulties because of her husband's death and her mother's hospitalization, consequently blackmails Susan. Susan and her daughter Julie break into Martha's home, steal the measuring cup and destroy it. On a visit to her sister Felicia Tilman's home, Martha discovers that "Mary Alice's" name is Angela Forrest, and that she stole a baby in Utah and moved to Wisteria Lane to escape her past. Martha decides to solve her financial difficulties by blackmailing Mary Alice sending her a letter. After Mary Alice receives the letter, she commits suicide. The housewives of Wisteria Lane find the note in Mary Alice's clothing and give it to Paul Young. He hires a private eye/hitman to discover who sent the note and to kill him or her. Paul discovers that Edie has the same stationery, and a misunderstanding ensues until it becomes clear that Edie stole the stationery from Martha. Paul confronts Martha at her home, and Martha explains that she was desperate for money and that Mary Alice killed herself because of what she did to that poor baby", Zach Young, whose true identity is Dana Taylor. In a rage, Paul kills Martha. Martha makes no more appearances after season one until finally in season 5 she reappears in a flashback gossiping about finding Mary Alice dead.

Felicia Tilman

Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris) is sister. She always hated Martha, but regardless she wanted revenge on her sister's murderer. She came to Fairview to find out what happened to her sister, and ends up exposing Zach Young to the truth about himself that Paul has kept hidden from him. She had been entrusted with Zach's care after she blackmailed Paul Young into giving him up. She was then attacked with a hockey stick by Zach and pushed down the stairs; as a result she injured her neck. After briefly returning to Utah to seek medical treatment for her injuries, Felicia returns to Wisteria Lane. She later went on to ruin Edie Britt's engagement party by announcing rather matter-of-factly to everyone that Paul Young had murdered her sister. She tried to irritate Paul three times: by spreading shortening on his front step, replacing the lighter fluid for his grill with gasoline, and ordering a fumigation for his house while he and Zach were still at home. Finally, Felicia arranged an elaborate frame job that got Paul arrested on suspicion of her own murder. Felicia, alive and well, has disappeared to an isolated cabin in parts unknown, checking in under her dead sister's name.

Betty Applewhite

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Alfre Woodard as Betty Applewhite

Betty Applewhite (Alfre Woodard) is the first African-American housewife to be a major character on Desperate Housewives. She is a single mother with strong religious beliefs and is a former concert pianist. In the first episode of Season 2, she agrees to be the organist at Rex Van de Kamp's funeral on the request of Bree Van de Kamp. Betty is an astute woman not to be trifled with, as revealed in the subsequent unpleasant and threatening exchanges with Bree. Her reasons for moving from Chicago to Wisteria Lane are mysterious and rather quick due to the fact she has locked up her son Caleb in her basement. She bought the Wisteria Lane house over the phone and had moved in the middle of the night, arousing the suspicions of the housewives thereafter. She eventually revealed to Bree Van de Kamp that Caleb had murdered Matthew's girlfriend Melanie Foster at a local lumberyard.

Meanwhile, her son Matthew has been dating Danielle Van de Kamp, Bree's daughter. Matthew wants a "normal life", without the secrets and pressures of keeping a convict out of sight. Together, he and Danielle hatch a scheme to have Caleb put down. Matthew tricks his brother into going over to Danielle's house to rape her. Bree finds out and informs Betty that she will call the cops and send Caleb away forever. Betty will not have this and decides to poison Caleb because she refuses to have him locked away. By poisoning him she will be giving him peace, a better life because, in her own words, "he deserves so much better than this." Betty takes Caleb on a picnic where she treats him to a bowl of ice cream that she has poisoned. While holding back tears she tells her son that Matthew stayed home because it was a special day just for the two of them. Caleb asks if Matthew is mad with him and Betty asks why. It is then that she learns the horrible truth when he tells her of what really happened. Betty immediately grabs Caleb's hand and stops him from eating the ice cream. When she arrives back on Wisteria Lane, she tricks Matthew into going into the basement where she locks him in for punishment. Danielle later comes to Matthew's aid and strikes Betty with a crowbar. The two flee while Betty is left on the basement floor.

After she comes to, Betty decides that leaving Wisteria Lane once and for all will do her some justice. She packs up all of her belongings and leaves her house with Caleb in the middle of the night. Betty tells him that for now on it will be just the two of them. That is when the police show up and have her arrested in front of the many watchful eyes of the neighbors of Wisteria Lane. It is in jail that Betty learns that it was not Caleb behind Melanie Foster's murder—it was Matthew. Betty calls Bree who is in a psychiatric hospital and warns her that they need to get Danielle to safety right away. As Bree escapes the hospital, Matthew and Danielle head back to the neighborhood to grab some things. While Danielle attempts to break into her mother's safe, Matthew heads back to the Applewhite home to pick up some cash for his new life with her. Betty has been waiting here to confront him, and reveals that she has learned the shocking truth and is even more shocked that he has placed the blame on his own brother. According to Matthew, Betty loved Caleb more than she loved him. Betty argues that she was the only person that Caleb was going to receive love from. Matthew leaves to go get Danielle from her house before Betty alerts the authorities.

There is a confrontation with Bree Van de Kamp as Matthew holds her at gunpoint. Danielle is exposed to the man Matthew really is and just as he is about to pull the trigger, he is killed, the victim of a bullet straight to the heart from the gun of a SWAT team policeman. Betty and Caleb watch as his lifeless body is wheeled away and then leave Wisteria Lane for a better and peaceful life.

Caleb and Matthew Applewhite

Caleb and Matthew Applewhite (Page Kennedy and NaShawn Kearse - Caleb; Mehcad Brooks - Matthew) are Betty Applewhite's sons. Before Caleb and his mother, Betty Applewhite, and brother, Matthew, moved to Fairview, Matthew was dating a young woman named Melanie Foster. He tried to break up with her, but she wouldn't let go. Caleb asked Melanie to meet at the Lumberjack warehouse garden, but Caleb turns up first and when he tells Melanie he loves her, she laughs in his face. Caleb then tries to kiss her, but she slaps him and hits him with a pole. Caleb gets scared and hits her with it over the head. Melanie falls and, thinking that he killed her, Caleb flees. Matthew returned later and told Melanie, who was still alive, that Caleb didn't mean to do what he did but she tells him unless they get back together, she's going to the police, Matthew begged Melanie not to say anything, but she walks away. He hits her with the pole three times, which kills the young woman, and he places his jacket on her.

Matthew and Betty locked Caleb in the basement as punishment for Melanie's death, but Betty did not know that Matthew was the real killer. Matthew starts dating Danielle Van de Kamp, and her mother, Bree, is not happy with this. Matthew and Danielle create a plan to get Caleb out of the way. Matthew tells Caleb that Danielle likes him and she wants to kiss him. Caleb goes to the Van De Kamp house and into Danielle's room but Danielle freaks and screams for Bree. Bree enters with her gun and frightens Caleb away. After this Betty decides to kill Caleb peacefully with some pills disguised in ice cream but Caleb tells Betty that Matthew said he should go to Danielle's room. She does not kill Caleb and instead locks Matthew in the basement. Danielle finds Matthew and when Betty brings Matthew some food Danielle attacks her and Matthew and Danielle run away. Betty learns that Matthew killed Melanie and tells Bree. Bree rushes home to find Danielle and Matthew there with money they stole from Bree's safe and she won't let Matthew and Danielle out of the house. Matthew brings out a gun and tells Bree to move or he'll shoot her and she challenges him to in order to prove to her watching daughter that Matthew is a murderer. However before he can pull the trigger, Matthew is shot in the heart by a police sniper and dies instantly. Caleb and Betty leave Wisteria Lane after Matthew's death.

Ida Greenberg

Ida Greenberg (Pat Crawford Brown) first appeared in the episode, "Come In, Stranger", as a neighbor at the watch-meeting complaining that somebody was watching her whenever she took a shower. In season two, we discover that Ida has a drinking problem. But that ends because, when she asks for God to end her alcoholism, her bottle is shot due to an event taking place at Mike's house, and she quits. In the same episode, it is also revealed that Ida attends a Methodist church. When Mike awakes from his coma, Ida's nephew, Dr. Lee Craig, tells her about this, and she starts spreading the news around Wisteria Lane. Also, when she planned to go on a trip somewhere, in episode 3.06, Susan steals her cab. In season four, Ida has gotten back to drinking. When a neighborhood meeting is done for elections of the street president, Ida objects against the gay neighbors, not because of their fountain, but because they're gay. During the tornado warning, she hides in Mrs. McCluskey's basement with the Scavos, and the house is destroyed due to the tornado. It is soon confirmed she has passed away, sacrificing herself to save Lynette's children and husband. It is also revealed that she was a very good baseball player and even played professionally during World War II. Her ashes are scattered by Lynette and Mrs. McCluskey at a baseball field where she had her glory days.

Lee McDermott

Lee McDermott (Kevin Rahm) is Bob's husband. The couple lives at 4351 Wisteria Lane and are the next door neighbors of Susan and Mike Delfino. Lee dislikes Susan after her repeated attempts to get him to like her all backfired. Bob and Lee have a civil ceremony at the end of the fourth season. As series five progresses, Lee is seen intracting more with the housewives and even being at some of their weekly meetings. He and Susan even develop some kind of friendship in Season Five.

Bob Hunter

Bob Hunter (Tuc Watkins) is Lee’s husband. A few days after the couple moved in Susan tried to get the couple to like her and in one of her attempts she unintentionally ruins his $2000 Dolce & Gabbana suit when Lee and his dog Raphael jumped on him after exiting the Delfino garage with yellow paint on his paws. Bob and Lee have a civil ceremony at the end of the fourth season. He is a lawyer and was the attorney for Porter Scavo when he was on charged for burning down a bar (when it was really Dave Williams).

Alberta Frome

Alberta Frome (Betty Murphy) lives on Wisteria Lane. It hasn’t been determined on which address. Mrs. Frome is a single woman. It is unknown whether she has been divorced or widowed. Alberta owns a cat, Mr. Whiskers who always needs to be watched when she goes out of town. Therefore she must rely on her neighbor friends to take responsibility. When Susan watches Mr. Whiskers, Alberta’s house is broken into by Mike however the cat was unharmed. Alberta continues to be a recurring character who is mostly seen during neighborhood gatherings and when one of the housewives needs something or vice versa.

Danny Farrell

Danny Farrell (Ridge Canipe) is the paper boy of Wisteria Lane. As stated by Mary Alice, he is a small rival to all the women on Wisteria Lane. He is unhelpful and throws the morning papers in the wrong places such as puddles and new rose bushes. He is seen in season one and in season three.

Edwin Mullins

Edwin Mullins (Cheyenne Wilbur) and his wife lived at 4351 Wisteria Lane. Mr Mullins was a taxidermist, and kept a lot of stuffed animals in his home, as revealed by Susan, who also states that he often invites people in, and then introduces them to all his “pets”. They also had a problem with teenagers spreading toilet paper across their yard, and kept a spare key to Mrs. McCluskey’s house. They also trusted Bree by giving her a key to their home. They left Wisteria Lane because of all the action happening there: murder, suicide, blackmail, violence, and arson. It was never determined where they went. Mr. Mullins' brother was Susan’s divorce attorney.

Art Shepherd

Arthur "Art" Shepherd (Matt Roth) and his ill sister Rebecca lived at 4352 Wisteria Lane. He moved to Wisteria Lane in season three, and was introduced in the episode "Bang", where he saves Lynette from being killed by Carolyn Bigsby during the supermarket hostage situation. By doing so he became a hero of Parker's. However, while bringing over a cake to Art, Lynette found his basement full of toys, and filled from floor to ceiling with polaroids of half-naked boys. Convinced that Art's a pedophile, she asked Karen McCluskey of advice and soon there were massive demonstrations outside the Shepherd’s house. After Rebecca died, Lynette came to rethink what she had seen, and begged for Art’s forgiveness. He responded by saying that he had to hide his pedophilia from his sister, but now he was free of those restrictions. He then ominously stated that he's going to be moving to a new neighborhood.

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd (Jennifer Dundas) is Art's ill sister who lived with him. She was in a wheel chair, and was taken care of by Art. When the accusations towards Art grew stronger, Rebecca came to her brother's defense, claiming that his love for boys was completely pure, only being that of a swimming coach’s pride of his students. As the protests didn’t stop Rebecca died of cardiac arrest.

Roberta Simmons

Roberta Simmons (Lily Tomlin) is Karen McCluskey's sister, who helps Karen dig up dirt on Dave Williams.

Eli Scruggs

Eli Scruggs (Beau Bridges) is the neighbourhood handyman.

Jerry Shaw

Jerry Shaw (Richard Roundtree) is private investigator and hitman of Fairview. Mr. Shaw first appears in "Who's That Woman?" where Paul hires him to find out who sent Mary Alice the blackmail note. He appears again in the episode "Anything You Can Do" after Paul finds out that Edie used the same type of stationery that the blackmail note was written on. Jerry Shaw tracks down Edie at the same Saddle Ranch Bar Deirdre was last seen before she proceeded to the Young residence only to find a watery grave. Edie traveled there with Susan who both teamed up to spy on Kendra and Mike. He confronts Edie, masquerading as a partner in real estate and makes a smooth deal with her. In the next episode, "Guilty", Mr. Shaw confronts Edie at an abandoned site in the middle of a rural highway. He finds out that the paper came from Martha Huber just before he was about to shoot her. Shaw then proceeds to tell Paul that Mrs. Huber was the writer of the note. Paul decides to take it upon himself to kill Mary Alice’s blackmailer. Jerry Shaw disappears until the twentieth episode, when Susan hires Mr. Shaw himself, of all PIs, to investigate the Young Family after Zach set fire to her kitchen. His last appearance being in the episode "Sunday in the Park with George", where he delivers falsified information regarding the Young family. Susan finally asks him to run a complete background check on Mike Delfino. Susan finds out that Mike had killed a cop, and sees Noah and Kendra in a photo, recognizing Kendra instantly setting her straight to getting back with Mike.

Curt Monroe

Curtis "Curt" Monroe (Michael Ironside) is a private detective from Chicago who lost his license a couple of years ago. He was hired by someone in the Foster family (of which deceased teenager Melanie Foster was a member; Caleb is the only one who really knows what happened to her) to look for Caleb, since he is suspected of being Melanie’s murderer. After finding Caleb, Monroe accidentally shot himself while in the Applewhite basement. Betty and Matthew hid the body in Monroe’s own car, intending to dump the car far away from Wisteria Lane; however, they are unable to drive the car because Betty accidentally shut the keys in the trunk with the body. His body was discovered when Susan crashed into his car.

Melanie Foster

Melanie Foster (Joy Bisco) is a high school aged girl from Chicago who was involved with Matthew Applewhite at the time of her murder. He tried to end a relationship with her, but she retaliated angrily and asked him to meet her at a lumberyard in town. When Caleb shows up first and tries to kiss Melanie, she reacts violently and pushes him away. But he persists and eventually hits her with an axe and knocks her unconscious. Minutes later, Matthew arrives to find a groggy Melanie, but when she persistently bashes Caleb, Matthew beats her to death and covers her with his sweater. Because Caleb arrived home first with blood on his hands, Betty is convinced it is he that murdered Melanie.

See also

• Acquaintances of Susan Mayer
• Acquaintances of Lynette Scavo
• Acquaintances of Bree Van de Kamp
• Acquaintances of Gabrielle Solis